I once told my mentor and squad leader I feared that since I didn’t speak the same languages of the people we were going to work with, I wouldn’t be able to fully bless them and make a difference in their lives.
One of my squad leaders spoke encouraging words over me and told me that even though I couldn’t fully communicate with them, I had a smile that could spread love regardless of the language barrier. I didn’t really give it much thought until we were driving through the squatter village we did ministry in and an old man who was digging through a pile of trash looked up and threw the biggest smile my way. In that moment, I started to think of everyone who lived there and of all the joy they are filled with even though they weren’t given the best life… and I couldn’t help but feel guilty.
Over the past two months, there have been moments when I chose the easy route and complained about the tough situations, when I could have taken the sometimes more difficult route and found joy in those situations. In those moments, I remembered what my leader told me, and I truly realized how much power a simple smile can have!
As I sit here and really think about my life, how could I not smile? The Lord has blessed me beyond belief over the years and continues to bless me every day. I came to El Salvador to bless the people of this country, but we have a pretty awesome God who has allowed me to be blessed along the way.
They showed me how powerful joy is, and they showed me that no matter where I am, no matter what the situation is, no matter how hard the situation is, there is always something to smile about and always an opportunity to find joy in life. For me, it looks like choosing to be thankful for everything the Lord has blessed me with and choosing to smile.
I want to live a life full of joy and smile at the entire world because of all the wonderful things the Lord has done. I want to fully appreciate the people and the things I have been blessed with, and I want to always remember how the Lord taught me the power of a simple smile through one man digging through trash in a squatter village.
